Dimethyl pyrazol-based nitrification inhibitors effect on nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria to mitigate N₂O...

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions have been increasing as a result of intensive nitrogen (N) fertilisation. Soil nitrification and denitrification are the main sources of N₂O, and the use of ammonium-based fertilisers combined with nitrification inhibitors (NIs) could be useful in mitigating N₂O emissions from agricultural systems. In this work we looked at the N₂O mitigation capacity of two dimethylpyrazol-based NIs, 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and 2-(N-3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA), on soil nitrifying and denitrifying microbial populations under two contrasting soil water contents (40% and 80% soil water filled pore space; WFPS). Our results show that DMPP and DMPSA are equally efficient at reducing N₂O emissions under 40% WFPS conditions by inhibiting bacterial ammonia oxidation. In contrast, at 80% WFPS DMPSA was less efficient than DMPP at reducing N₂O emissions. Interestingly, at 80% WFPS, where lowered oxygen availability limits nitrification, both DMPP and DMPSA not only inhibited nitrification but also stimulated N₂O reduction to molecular nitrogen (N₂) via nitrous oxide reductase activity (Nos activity). Therefore, in this work we observed that DMP-based NIs stimulated the reduction of N₂O to N₂ by nitrous oxide reductase during the denitrification process.